Baked Chicken Legs with the best garlic-lemon-dijon marinade that is easy and excellent. Roasting the chicken legs results in crispy skin and a juicy center.

Baked Chicken Legs on Baking Sheet garnished with parsley

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Chicken is on the regular rotation at our house. We love chicken dinners like Chicken Tetrazzini, our favorite Chicken Parmesan, and Chicken Alfredo Pasta because they are simple, tasty, and inexpensive.

Why You’ll Love this Chicken Recipe

There’s something so comforting and welcoming about the aroma of Roast Chicken in the kitchen, and you’ll get compliments on these chicken legs before they even come out of the oven.

The marinade really makes this recipe. Have you tried mustard on chicken? It’s mouthwatering. Everything about this recipe is good from the tasty marinade and easy prep to the juicy dark meat center and crisp salty chicken skin.

Baked Chicken Legs recipe with garlic, lemon and dijon

The Best Chicken Marinade

Here’s our secret – we use the same marinade on our famous Baked Salmon. We were thrilled to find out it’s amazing on chicken as well. P.S. This also happens to be low carb, paleo, and keto-friendly.

  • Olive oil – we used light oil which has a higher smoke point, not extra virgin
  • Garlic – pressed or finely minced cloves
  • Parsley – flat-leaf or Italian parsley
  • Lemon juice – freshly squeezed is best.
  • Mustard – Dijon mustard adds great depth of flavor
  • Salt and black pepper – season generously as some of the marinade is lost to the baking sheet.
Ingredients for baked chicken legs

How to Make Baked Chicken Legs

Chicken legs are our favorite because they are dark meat so they naturally have great flavor. Coat them in this amazing marinade and these may just be the tastiest chicken drumsticks you’ve had.

1. Make the Marinade: Stir together all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl.

The best chicken marinade in a bowl

2. Marinate the Chicken: Place chicken legs in a large mixing bowl or a large Ziploc bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken and toss by hand to evenly coat the chicken and get some of it under the skins. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for 6 hours or overnight, turning the legs once.

Step by step how to marinate chicken

3. Bake Chicken Legs: Preheat the oven and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or a Silpat liner. Arrange chicken skin-side-down. Brush chicken legs with any extra marinade left in the mixing bowl. Bake 25 minutes at 400˚F skin side down, then turn the chicken legs over and bake another 25 minutes.

For Extra Crispy Skin: bake on a rack for crisp skin all around then broil on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until the skins have browned.

Baked chicken legs before and after baking

Air Fryer Instructions

Air fry chicken legs at 375˚F for 20-25 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through. Cook until the internal temperature reaches at least 165˚F. You’ll need to cook in batches for most air fryers to keep them in a single layer so air can circulate. 

Can I Substitute the Chicken Legs?

If you want to make this recipe with different cuts of chicken, you’ll want to adjust the timings and cook to a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. If using chicken breast or tenderloins, cut the marinating time in half.

  • Chicken breasts: bake for 25-30 minutes
  • Chicken tenderloins: bake 15-20 minutes
  • Bone-in, skin-on thighs: bake 45- 50 minutes
  • Boneless chicken thighs: bake 20-25 minutes

Serve With

Perfectly baked chicken legs

Tips For Oven-Baked Chicken Legs

  • Pat dry chicken: use paper towels to pat dry chicken before applying marinade.
  • Give it time to marinate: The secret to excellent chicken legs is lengthy marinating (at least 6 hours and ideally overnight). For even more flavor, massage the marinade under the skin of each chicken leg.
  • Use the pan drippings: brush chicken with the lemony sauce drippings in the baking pan after they come out of the oven.

For Easy Cleanup: line the baking sheet fully with foil before baking to avoid scrubbing the pan.

Make-Ahead

  • Refrigerate – cooked chicken can be stored covered and refrigerated for up to 4 days.
  • Re-Heating – place leftover cooked chicken in the oven or air fryer at 375˚F until warmed through.

More Chicken Recipes

Baked Chicken Legs with Best Marinade

4.98 from 301 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Baked Chicken Legs recipe with garlic, lemon and dijon. An easy and excellent chicken marinade with so much flavor. Learn the secret to great chicken legs! | natashaskitchen.com
Baked Chicken Legs recipe with garlic, lemon and dijon. An easy and excellent chicken marinade with so much flavor. The longer you marinate this, the better (at least 6 hours and ideally overnight).
Prep Time: 6 hours
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 6 hours 50 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 14 chicken legs or drumsticks
  • 4 lbs 14 count Chicken Legs or drumsticks
  • 1/4 cup olive oil, (Use light oil, not extra virgin)
  • 4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
  • 4 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 3 Tbsp lemon juice from 1 large lemon
  • 2 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp salt, (we use fine sea salt)
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, combine all of the marinade ingredients and stir or whisk together until well blended .
  • Transfer chicken legs to a large mixing bowl or a large ziploc bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken and toss with your hands to evenly coat the chicken, pushing some of the marinade under the skin of each chicken leg for richer flavor. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate 6 hours or overnight, tossing chicken once while marinating.
  • Preheat oven to 400˚F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or a silpat. Arrange chicken skin-side-down and bring chicken to room temp while oven preheats. Brush chicken legs with any extra marinade left in the mixing bowl. Bake at 400˚F in the center of oven for 25 minutes skin-side-down then turn the chicken legs over and bake additional 25 minutes skin-side-up. For crispier skin, broil on high heat 2 to 3 minutes or until skins have browned.*

Notes

*For extra flavor, brush chicken legs with the lemony sauce drippings in the baking pan after they come out of the oven and serve garnished with freshly chopped parsley if desired.
Note: Much of the oil, marinade and salt will end up in the bottom of the pan and discarded after baking which makes it difficult to gauge the nutrition facts on this recipe. 

Nutrition Per Serving

179kcal Calories12g Protein13g Fat3g Saturated Fat68mg Cholesterol419mg Sodium165mg Potassium160IU Vitamin A3.1mg Vitamin C11mg Calcium0.6mg Iron
Nutrition Facts
Baked Chicken Legs with Best Marinade
Amount per Serving
Calories
179
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
13
g
20
%
Saturated Fat
 
3
g
19
%
Cholesterol
 
68
mg
23
%
Sodium
 
419
mg
18
%
Potassium
 
165
mg
5
%
Protein
 
12
g
24
%
Vitamin A
 
160
IU
3
%
Vitamin C
 
3.1
mg
4
%
Calcium
 
11
mg
1
%
Iron
 
0.6
mg
3
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: baked chicken legs
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $
Calories: 179

Filed Under

Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook
4.98 from 301 votes (186 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  • Karolina
    January 27, 2025

    Can you use this on boneless skinless chicken thighs??

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      January 27, 2025

      Hi Karolina! The skin helps to keep them moist, but you can use boneless and skinless chicken if you prefer. You’ll need to watch them in the oven and shorten the baking time since they will cook faster than bone-in.

      Reply

  • Gregory Bowman
    January 1, 2025

    I have been a fan of yours for awhile now and bought the cookbook. I cooked the baked chicken legs with THE best marinade recipe but, substituted skin on bone in thighs and it turned out great especially after letting them marinate over night. This is a good chicken recipe for the winter because in the summer it’s grilling time for my spatchcocked bbq chicken. I wonder if I could use legs and thighs with this marinade and grill them indirectly on the grill so as not to burn. What do you think Natasha?

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      January 1, 2025

      Hi Gregory! Thank you so much for the love and support. I’m so happy to hear you enjoy the recipes. I haven’t tried grilling them but I bet that would taste amazing! Here’s what one of my readers wrote: “Omg absolutely AMAZING. I didn’t change a thing and the chicken was so moist and flavorful. We baked 12 of them and grilled 2 and both ways it was absolutely delicious. Definitely saving this one!” You should use a food thermometer to check for doneness. I hope that helps!

      Reply

  • Kamar
    December 5, 2024

    I love this recipe. This is the third time I make it. Everyone in the family loves it. We don’t like to leave skin on. Do you have any recommendation for us on how to make their look more appealing? Should we add paprika? We’d like to see the « baked » color that we can’t achieve without the skin.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      December 6, 2024

      Hi Kamar, I think a paprika would work here if you wanted to add some color to the skin. You can also broil the skin for a couple of minutes at the end or bake in the upper third of the oven so the chicken legs take on more color from the oven heating elements.

      Reply

  • Karen Ogden
    November 5, 2024

    Pretty darn tasty my dear. I just love your recipes Natasha. Sorry I cannot include pictures but I don’t have a camera that will transfer pictures directly to my pc. You are an amazing cook and I LOVE your videos!!

    Reply

  • Tricia
    August 5, 2024

    Excited to try this for lunch tomorrow! Swapping in Avocado oil and adding some fresh thyme as well!

    Reply

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